Switch-selector.



A. F. DIXON.

SWITCH SELECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED 050.12. |914.

Ll?,5 Patented Feb.29,1916

2 SHEETS-SHEET I Amos /Xo/fz A. F. DIXON.

SWITCH SELECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I2, I9I4.

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MOS E'. EIXUN, OIF NEWARK, NEW JERSE ifa pg@ Y, assitance, 'nr innsnn .assronmnnrs-ro SWITCH-SELECTQR Specication of Letters atent.

Patented Feb. 22, i216.

Application led ecember l2, 1914. Serial No. 876,844.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, AMos F. DIXON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Switch-Selectors, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

This invention relates to'switch selectors,

and more particularly to a selecting mecha-y vof its selection has been accomplished and one which at the same time guards against such a. switch combination being overlapped bya/succeeding switch selection. l

To these ends my invention provides a Series of movable switch members which areV normally held in contact with a correspond# ing set 'off stationary contact points but which may be moved into contact, with an'- other set of contact points. These switch members are carried 'on a set of armatures n assoclated wlth an electromagnetic device n,

Whosefunction it is to lock the said members in either their normal or their selected contacting positions. The movement of the various switch members is controlled by a series of mechanical actuating devices which may be selectively operated .by the key levers of a transmitter key board of the type mentioned above.

vThis invention will be more clearly understood by referring to the accompanying drawings in which- I Figure 1 gives a plan view of the working parts'of a keyboard transmitter employing the selective mechanism of my invention: Fig. 2gives a sectional view along line 2-2 of Fig. land Fig. 3 gives a view along line 3-3 of Fig. 2 showing further details of the selecting mechanism.

In the adaptation of this invention herein illustrated, a keyboard similar to that of a typewriter is employed. According to the well known arrangement of such keyboards, each key button 5 is attached to one end of a key lever 6 which may be pivotedat itsV other end tothe frame work 7 in any suitable manner. Each key lever 6 carries one y or more downwardly extending lugs y8 adapted upon the depression of its key 5 to engage and depress one or more of the t'ive bars 9, and the bar l0, which are located beneath key levers 6 and extend at right angles thereto. 'Located in each end of the bars 9 and also of bar l0 is a diagonal slot 11 whose walls form a track adapted to move on a roller l2 and to give to the bars 9 and 10 a longitudinal displacement when they are depressed by the lugs 8. Springs 13 are provided for restoring these bars to thelrnormal positions' when the key pressure 1s released. v y

Bar has at its right extremity, an upvvfardly extending arm la which actuats the circuitvcontrol switch springs 15 upon"l each longitudinal thrust of the bar l0. Situated to the left of the keyboard is a bi-polar electroma'gnet 20. Located above the pole piecesof magnet 2O are a series of armatures 21 centrally pivoted at 22 and attractlable to one or the` other of the pole pieces of magnet depending upon the comparative lengths of the two air gaps between the said poleV pieces and the armature. .ture 21 carries a contact arm 23 which is insulated therefrom by block 24. Arms23 are normally held in contact with stationary contact points'25 by the spring 26. and electrical connection may be established with arms 23 by way of spring 26 and binding post 27. The armatures 21 in the embodiment of the invention herein illustrated are tive in number, corresponding to the tive bars 9 .of the keyboard. Each bar 9 carries a termmal actuating member 28 which, when the bar 9 is depressed, forces the correspondlng armature 21 against the.- tension of sprmg 26 into a position Where it more nearly closes the air gap 29, at 'the same time removing arm 23 from its contact with point'25 and bringing' it into contact with an opposite contact point 30. When, however, the magnet 20 is energized,` the pull on the armature 2l is such that in case this armature is in its normal position, the

arm 23 cannot be moved away from contact point by the pressure of' a key lever 6, and if the armature 21 is in its operated position the tension of spring 26 is not sudicient to move arm `23 away from contact point 3 0.

ln Fig. 3, for the sake oi simplicity, only Each armaatl one of the springs 26 and binding posts 27 are shown, though it should be understoody that there is .one of each of these partsv associated with each of the arms 23.

In the operation of the key board transmitter herein described, the depression of a key 'causes the downward movement and:

longitudinal displacement of certain of the bars 9 depending upon the combination of lugs 8 carried by the lever arm 6 of the particular key 5 depressed. These bars9 by means of theiractuating members 2S depress the corresponding armatures 21 and move the contact members 23 into engagement with contactpoints 30. The members i 23, corresponding to the bars 9, which have not been depressed, will remain inv contact with contact points 25. Contact points 25 "may, as in this instance, be connected to the negative pole of a' source of, current and .the contact pointsl may be connected to the positive pole of the said source. There is thus set up in the selecting mechanism a combination 'for controlling a definite train 'of negative -and positive 'impulses .correspondingto the letter or symbol of the key 4-'w'hichhas been de ressed. Furthermore, each key causes a epression and a longi 4 tudinal displacement of the bar'10 whichy transmitted, the circuit of magnet 20 may be v opened and contact arms 23`returned to their normal positions by their respective springs 26 and a new combination. of the arms 23 closes the normally open contact between springs l5. The closure of this contact en- I ergizes the magnet 20 and holds the contact arms 23 in the several positions given them by the operation of said key. After .the train of impulses, above noted, has been may be set up by the depression of another of the keys 5. v

What is claimed is:

1. A switch .selector comprising a. plu-V rality of movable switch members, an armamagnet.

meente ture individual to each of said members, an

actuating arm coperating with each of said armatures to move the member` individual thereto, manual means for selectively'oper- I` ating said actuating, arm, an electromagnet for locking said members in their selected positions, and a circuit-closing device actus` ated by said manual means for energizing said electromagnet.

2. Al switch selector comprising a plurality of movable switch members, means for holding said members in anormal nposition, an armature individual toeach of said v members, anA actuating arm cooperating with each of said armatures to `move the said member individual thereto, a plurality 'of key levers for selectively operating said actuating arms, an electromagiiet for holding said switch members'in'their selectedpositions and locking the unselectedmembers in their normal positions, anda circuit-closing device actuated by said key levers for energizing 'said electromagnet.

' 3. A switch selector comprising a plurality of movable switch members, an armature individual to each of said' members, an

- actuating arm-coperating with each of said In'witness whereof, ,I hereunto subscribe my name this 11th day of December, A. D., 1914.

AMos nnixoN.

v l Witnesses:

E. Enma, K. L. STAHL.

energizing said electroso A 

